Is it Possible for God to Create a Creature More Perfect than Our Lady?

Is it Possible for God to Create a Creature More Perfect than Our Lady?

I've been studying this question recently, occasioned at first by a conversation with my wife, right before it providentially popped up in my daily philosophical readings--in Hugon's Cursus Philosophiae Thomisticae, Vol. 3 on Metaphysics.  

The Thomistic response may sound impious to some, but it is affirmative. The alternatives are either that Our Lady is infinitely perfect, or that God is not omnipotent, neither of which will stand.  

She is perfect as a creature, and the greatest creature God actually created, "higher than the cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim" (as the Byzantine hymn Axion Estin proclaims), yet not the greatest creature possible for God.  There is no such thing as the greatest creature possible for God--it is a contradiction in terms. 

Here is an excerpt from Hugon's Cursus Philosophiae Thomisticae, which I'm currently translating into English, Vol. 3: Metaphysica, p. 430. (The original Latin work is available from ITOPL):

III. – Second Conclusion: “It is impossible for a creature to be most perfect of all [possible creatures].”  This is the view of St. Thomas, Suárez, and the Scholastics in general.

            A creature, no matter how perfect, is infinitely distant from the participability of the divine perfection, which can never be exhausted.  But between infinitely distant things there can be an infinite number of intermediaries.  Therefore, between God and the most perfect creature there can be an infinite number of intermediary creatures that participate more and more in the divine perfection; and there will never be a creature that fully exhausts the divine participability.

            – You will say: God knows the most perfect of all [possible] creatures.  But God can produce what he knows.  Therefore.

            – I respond: I distinguish the major: That God knows that creature as something outside of the series of possible things, I concede; as something within the series of possible things, I deny.  I contradistinguish the minor, and I deny the consequence.  – Such a creature is impossible.  Therefore, it is known by God as something outside the series of possible things.

The Assumption: A Theological Conclusion?

The Assumption: A Theological Conclusion?

Link to Unam Sanctam Catholicam post.

Garrigou-Lagrange on the Queenship of Mary

Garrigou-Lagrange on the Queenship of Mary

From Garrigou's The Mother of the Savior.

Link to Catholic Champion Blog post.

The Death of Our Lady in the Western Theological Tradition

The Death of Our Lady in the Western Theological Tradition

Link to post on The New Theological Movement.

St. John Damascene on the Dormition of Our Lady

St. John Damascene on the Dormition of Our Lady

From Matins of the Feast of Our Lady's Assumption (Aug. 15)

Online Source: www.breviary.net

Lesson iv
Sermo sancti Joánnis Damascéni	The Lesson is taken from a Sermon by St. John of Damascus
Oratio 2 de Dormitione B.M.V. post initium
Final home and shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary, near Ephesus, Turkey
Hódie sacra et animáta arca Dei vivéntis, quæ suum in útero concépit Creatórem, requiéscit in templo Dómini, quod nullis est exstrúctum mánibus.  Et David exsúltat ejus parens, et cum eo choros ducunt Angeli, célebrant Archángeli, Virtútes gloríficant, Principátus exsúltant, Potestátes  collætántur, gaudent Dominatiónes, Throni festum diem agunt, laudant Chérubim, glóriam ejus prædicant Séraphim.  Hódie Eden novi Adam paradísum súscipit animátum, in quo solúta est condemnátio, in quo plantátum est lignum vitæ, in quo opérta fuit nostra núditas.	This day the holy and animated Ark of the living God, which had held within it its own Maker, is borne to rest in that Temple of the Lord, which is not made with hands.  David, whence it sprang, leapeth before it, and in company with him the Angels dance, the Archangels sing aloud, the Virtues ascribe glory, the Principalities shout for joy, the Powers make merry, the Dominions rejoice, the Thrones keep holiday, the Cherubim utter praise, and the Seraphim proclaim its glory.  This day the Eden of the new Adam receiveth the living garden of delight, wherein the condemnation was annulled, wherein the Tree of Life was planted, wherein our nakedness was covered.
V.  Tu autem, Dómine, miserére nobis. R.  Deo grátias.	V.  But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us. R.  Thanks be to God.
R.  Ornátam monílibus filiam Jerúsalem Dóminus concupívit : * Et vidéntes eam fíliæ Sion, beatíssimam prædicavérunt, dicéntes : Unguéntum effúsum nomen tuum.V.  Astitit regína a dextris tuis in vestítu deauráto, circúmdata varietáte. R.  Et vidéntes eam fíliæ Sion, beatíssimam prædicavérunt, dicéntes : Unguéntum effúsum nomen tuum.	R.  When the Lord beheld the daughter of Jerusalem adorned with her jewels, he greatly desired her beauty ; * And when the daughters of Sion saw her, they cried out that she was most blessed, and they said : Thy name is as ointment poured forth. V.  O Lord, upon thy right hand did stand the Queen in a vesture of gold, wrought about with divers colours. R.  And when the daughters of Sion saw her, they cried out that she was most blessed, and they said : Thy name is as ointment poured forth.
V.  Jube domne, (Dómine) benedícere.	V.  Vouchsafe, Reverend Father (O Lord), thy blessing.
Benedíctio 5: Christus perpétuæ det nobis gáudia vitæ.R.  Amen.	Benediction 5: May Christ bestow upon us the joys of life eternal. R.  Amen.
Lesson v
Hódie Virgo immaculáta, quæ nullis terrénis inquináta est afféctibus, sed cæléstibus educáta cogitatiónibus, non in terram revérsa est ; sed, cum esset animátum cælum, in cæléstibus tabernáculis collocátur.  Ex qua enim ómnibus vera vita manávit, quómodo illa mortem gustáret?  Sed cedit legi latæ ab eo quem génuit ; et, ut fília véteris Adam, véterem senténtiam súbiit (et ejus Fílius, qui est vita ipsa, eam non recusávit); ut autem Dei vivéntis Mater, ad illum ipsum digne assúmitur.	This day the stainless maiden, who had been defiled by no earthly lust, but ennobled by heavenly desires, returned not to dust, but, being herself a living heaven, took her place among the heavenly mansions.  From her true life had flowed for all men, and how should she taste of death?  But she yielded obedience to the law established by him to whom she had given birth, and, as the daughter of the old Adam, underwent the old sentence, which even her Son, who is the very Life Itself, had not refused ; but, as the Mother of the living God, she was worthily taken by him unto himself.
V.  Tu autem, Dómine, miserére nobis. R.  Deo grátias.	V.  But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us. R.  Thanks be to God.
R.  Beátam me dicent omnes generatiónes, * Quia fecit mihi Dóminus magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen ejus.V.  Et misericórdia ejus a progénie in progénies timéntibus eum. R.  Quia fecit mihi Dóminus magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen ejus.	R.  All generations shall call me blessed, * For the Lord that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his Name.V.  And his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations. R.  For the Lord that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his Name.
V.  Jube domne, (Dómine) benedícere.	V.  Vouchsafe, Reverend Father (O Lord), thy blessing.
Benedíctio 6: Ignem sui amóris accéndat Deus in córdibus nostris. R.  Amen.	Benediction 6: May God enkindle in our hearts the fire of his holy love. R.  Amen.
Lesson vi
Ex Actis Pii Papæ duodécimi	The Lesson is taken from the Acts of Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII solemnly declares the dogma of the Assumption of Mary Most Holy, November 1, 1950
Quóniam vero univérsa Ecclésia fidem in corpóream beátæ Maríæ Vírginis Assumptiónem per sæculórum decúrsum manifestávit, et totíus orbis Epíscopi prope unánimi consensióne petiérunt ut hæc véritas, quæ Sacris Lítteris innítitur, Christifidélium ánimis pénitus est ínsita, ceterísque revelátis veritátibus plane cónsona, tamquam divínæ et cathólicæ fídei dogma definirétur, Pius duodécimus Póntifex Máximus, totíus Ecclésiæ votis ánnuens, státuit hoc Beátæ Maríæ Vírginis privilégium solémniter renuntiáre.  Itaque die prima Novémbris anni máximi Jubilæi millésimi nongentésimi quinquagésimi, Romæ ad foro ad sancti Petri Basílicam paténte, plurimórum Sanctæ Románæ Ecclésiæ Cardinálium atque Episcopórum ex díssitis étiam regiónibus astánte cœtu, coram ingénti Christifidélium multitúdine, univérso cathólico orbe plaudénte, corpóream Beátæ Maríæ Vírginis Assumptiónem in cælum infallíbili oráculo in hæc verba proclamávit : Postquam súpplices étiam atque étiam ad Deum admóvimus preces, ac Veritátis Spíritus lumen invocávimus, ad Omnipoténtis Dei glóriam, qui peculiárem benevoléntiam suam Maríæ Vírgini dilargítus est, ad sui Fílii honórem, immortális sæculórum Regis ac peccáti mortísque victóris, ad ejúsdem augústæ Matris augéndam glóriam et ad totíus Ecclésiæ gáudium exsultationémque, auctoritáte Dómini Nostri Jesu Christi, Beatórum Apostolórum Petri et Pauli ac Nostra pronuntiámus, declarámus et definímus revelátum dogma esse : Immaculátam Deíparam semper Vírginem Maríam, expléto terréstris vitæ cursu, fuísse córpore et ánima ad cæléstem glóriam assúmptam.	Since indeed the universal Church hath at all times and throughout the ages manifested faith in the bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and since the Bishops of the whole world by an almost unanimous agreement have petitioned that this truth, which is enshrined in Sacred Scripture and deeply rooted in the souls of Christ's faithful, and is also truly in accord with other revealed truths, should be defined as a dogma of the divine and Catholick Faith, Pope Pius XII, acceding to the requests of the whole Church, decreed that this privilege of the Blessed Virgin Mary be solemnly proclaimed, and thus, on the first day of November of the year of the Great Jubilee, nineteen hundred and fifty, at Rome, in the open square before the Basilica of St. Peter, surrounded by a throng of many Cardinals and Bishops of the Holy Roman Church who had come from distant parts of the earth, and before a great multitude of the faithful, with the whole Catholick world rejoicing, proclaimed in these words and with infallible statement the bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven : Wherefore, having offered to God continual prayers of supplication, and having invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, to the glory of Almighty God who hath enriched the Virgin Mary with his special favour ; in honour of his Son, the immortal King of ages and victor over sin and death ; for the increase of the glory of the same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the whole Church, by the authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ, of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that : The Immaculate Mother of God, Mary ever Virgin, was, at the end of her earthly life, assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.
V.  Tu autem, Dómine, miserére nobis. R.  Deo grátias.	V.  But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us. R.  Thanks be to God.
R.  Beáta es, Virgo María, quæ Dóminum portásti, Creatórem mundi : * Genuísti qui te fecit, et inætérnum pérmanes Virgo.V.  Ave, María, grátia plena ; Dóminus tecum. R.  Genuísti qui te fecit, et in ætérnum pérmanes Virgo. V.  Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto. R.  Genuísti qui te fecit, et in ætérnum pérmanes Virgo.	R.  Blessed art thou, O Virgin Mary, who didst bear the Creator of all things : * Thou didst give birth to thy Maker, and forever remainedst a Virgin. V.  Hail Mary, full of grace : the Lord is with thee. R.  Thou didst give birth to thy Maker, and forever remainedst a Virgin. V.  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R.  Thou didst give birth to thy Maker, and forever remainedst a Virgin.

In Festo Assumptionis BMV (Aug. 15), 2o Nocturno

In Festo Assumptionis BMV (Aug. 15), 2o Nocturno

From Matins (Second Nocturn) of the Feast of Our Lady's Assumption into Heaven.
Online source: www.breviary.net

STAND
V.  Assúmpta est María in cælum : gaudent Angeli. R.  Laudántes benedícunt Dóminum.	V.  Mary is taken up into heaven, the company of the Angels is joyful. R.  Yea, the Angels rejoice and glorify the Lord.
Pater noster.  secreto usque ad V.  Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem. R.  Sed líbera nos a malo.	Our Father.   Which words are said aloud, and the rest secretly to: V.  And lead us not into temptation. R.  But deliver us from evil.
Absolutio: Ipsíus píetas et misericórdia nos ádjuvet, qui cum Patre et Spíritu Sancto vivit et regnat in sæcula sæculórum.R.  Amen.	Absolution:  May his loving-kindness and mercy assist us.  Who, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, for ever and ever. R.  Amen.
V.  Jube domne, (Dómine) benedícere.	V.  Vouchsafe, Reverend Father (O Lord), thy blessing.
Benedíctio 4: Deus Pater omnípotens sit nobis propítius et clemens. R.  Amen.	Benediction 4:  May God the Father Almighty shew us his mercy and pity. R.  Amen.
Lesson iv
Sermo sancti Joánnis Damascéni	The Lesson is taken from a Sermon by St. John of Damascus
Oratio 2 de Dormitione B.M.V. post initium
Final home and shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary, near Ephesus, Turkey
Hódie sacra et animáta arca Dei vivéntis, quæ suum in útero concépit Creatórem, requiéscit in templo Dómini, quod nullis est exstrúctum mánibus.  Et David exsúltat ejus parens, et cum eo choros ducunt Angeli, célebrant Archángeli, Virtútes gloríficant, Principátus exsúltant, Potestátes  collætántur, gaudent Dominatiónes, Throni festum diem agunt, laudant Chérubim, glóriam ejus prædicant Séraphim.  Hódie Eden novi Adam paradísum súscipit animátum, in quo solúta est condemnátio, in quo plantátum est lignum vitæ, in quo opérta fuit nostra núditas.	This day the holy and animated Ark of the living God, which had held within it its own Maker, is borne to rest in that Temple of the Lord, which is not made with hands.  David, whence it sprang, leapeth before it, and in company with him the Angels dance, the Archangels sing aloud, the Virtues ascribe glory, the Principalities shout for joy, the Powers make merry, the Dominions rejoice, the Thrones keep holiday, the Cherubim utter praise, and the Seraphim proclaim its glory.  This day the Eden of the new Adam receiveth the living garden of delight, wherein the condemnation was annulled, wherein the Tree of Life was planted, wherein our nakedness was covered.
V.  Tu autem, Dómine, miserére nobis. R.  Deo grátias.	V.  But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us. R.  Thanks be to God.
R.  Ornátam monílibus filiam Jerúsalem Dóminus concupívit : * Et vidéntes eam fíliæ Sion, beatíssimam prædicavérunt, dicéntes : Unguéntum effúsum nomen tuum.V.  Astitit regína a dextris tuis in vestítu deauráto, circúmdata varietáte. R.  Et vidéntes eam fíliæ Sion, beatíssimam prædicavérunt, dicéntes : Unguéntum effúsum nomen tuum.	R.  When the Lord beheld the daughter of Jerusalem adorned with her jewels, he greatly desired her beauty ; * And when the daughters of Sion saw her, they cried out that she was most blessed, and they said : Thy name is as ointment poured forth. V.  O Lord, upon thy right hand did stand the Queen in a vesture of gold, wrought about with divers colours. R.  And when the daughters of Sion saw her, they cried out that she was most blessed, and they said : Thy name is as ointment poured forth.
V.  Jube domne, (Dómine) benedícere.	V.  Vouchsafe, Reverend Father (O Lord), thy blessing.
Benedíctio 5: Christus perpétuæ det nobis gáudia vitæ.R.  Amen.	Benediction 5: May Christ bestow upon us the joys of life eternal. R.  Amen.
Lesson v
Hódie Virgo immaculáta, quæ nullis terrénis inquináta est afféctibus, sed cæléstibus educáta cogitatiónibus, non in terram revérsa est ; sed, cum esset animátum cælum, in cæléstibus tabernáculis collocátur.  Ex qua enim ómnibus vera vita manávit, quómodo illa mortem gustáret?  Sed cedit legi latæ ab eo quem génuit ; et, ut fília véteris Adam, véterem senténtiam súbiit (et ejus Fílius, qui est vita ipsa, eam non recusávit); ut autem Dei vivéntis Mater, ad illum ipsum digne assúmitur.	This day the stainless maiden, who had been defiled by no earthly lust, but ennobled by heavenly desires, returned not to dust, but, being herself a living heaven, took her place among the heavenly mansions.  From her true life had flowed for all men, and how should she taste of death?  But she yielded obedience to the law established by him to whom she had given birth, and, as the daughter of the old Adam, underwent the old sentence, which even her Son, who is the very Life Itself, had not refused ; but, as the Mother of the living God, she was worthily taken by him unto himself.
V.  Tu autem, Dómine, miserére nobis. R.  Deo grátias.	V.  But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us. R.  Thanks be to God.
R.  Beátam me dicent omnes generatiónes, * Quia fecit mihi Dóminus magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen ejus.V.  Et misericórdia ejus a progénie in progénies timéntibus eum. R.  Quia fecit mihi Dóminus magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen ejus.	R.  All generations shall call me blessed, * For the Lord that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his Name.V.  And his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations. R.  For the Lord that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his Name.
V.  Jube domne, (Dómine) benedícere.	V.  Vouchsafe, Reverend Father (O Lord), thy blessing.
Benedíctio 6: Ignem sui amóris accéndat Deus in córdibus nostris. R.  Amen.	Benediction 6: May God enkindle in our hearts the fire of his holy love. R.  Amen.
Lesson vi
Ex Actis Pii Papæ duodécimi	The Lesson is taken from the Acts of Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII solemnly declares the dogma of the Assumption of Mary Most Holy, November 1, 1950
Quóniam vero univérsa Ecclésia fidem in corpóream beátæ Maríæ Vírginis Assumptiónem per sæculórum decúrsum manifestávit, et totíus orbis Epíscopi prope unánimi consensióne petiérunt ut hæc véritas, quæ Sacris Lítteris innítitur, Christifidélium ánimis pénitus est ínsita, ceterísque revelátis veritátibus plane cónsona, tamquam divínæ et cathólicæ fídei dogma definirétur, Pius duodécimus Póntifex Máximus, totíus Ecclésiæ votis ánnuens, státuit hoc Beátæ Maríæ Vírginis privilégium solémniter renuntiáre.  Itaque die prima Novémbris anni máximi Jubilæi millésimi nongentésimi quinquagésimi, Romæ ad foro ad sancti Petri Basílicam paténte, plurimórum Sanctæ Románæ Ecclésiæ Cardinálium atque Episcopórum ex díssitis étiam regiónibus astánte cœtu, coram ingénti Christifidélium multitúdine, univérso cathólico orbe plaudénte, corpóream Beátæ Maríæ Vírginis Assumptiónem in cælum infallíbili oráculo in hæc verba proclamávit : Postquam súpplices étiam atque étiam ad Deum admóvimus preces, ac Veritátis Spíritus lumen invocávimus, ad Omnipoténtis Dei glóriam, qui peculiárem benevoléntiam suam Maríæ Vírgini dilargítus est, ad sui Fílii honórem, immortális sæculórum Regis ac peccáti mortísque victóris, ad ejúsdem augústæ Matris augéndam glóriam et ad totíus Ecclésiæ gáudium exsultationémque, auctoritáte Dómini Nostri Jesu Christi, Beatórum Apostolórum Petri et Pauli ac Nostra pronuntiámus, declarámus et definímus revelátum dogma esse : Immaculátam Deíparam semper Vírginem Maríam, expléto terréstris vitæ cursu, fuísse córpore et ánima ad cæléstem glóriam assúmptam.	Since indeed the universal Church hath at all times and throughout the ages manifested faith in the bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and since the Bishops of the whole world by an almost unanimous agreement have petitioned that this truth, which is enshrined in Sacred Scripture and deeply rooted in the souls of Christ's faithful, and is also truly in accord with other revealed truths, should be defined as a dogma of the divine and Catholick Faith, Pope Pius XII, acceding to the requests of the whole Church, decreed that this privilege of the Blessed Virgin Mary be solemnly proclaimed, and thus, on the first day of November of the year of the Great Jubilee, nineteen hundred and fifty, at Rome, in the open square before the Basilica of St. Peter, surrounded by a throng of many Cardinals and Bishops of the Holy Roman Church who had come from distant parts of the earth, and before a great multitude of the faithful, with the whole Catholick world rejoicing, proclaimed in these words and with infallible statement the bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven : Wherefore, having offered to God continual prayers of supplication, and having invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, to the glory of Almighty God who hath enriched the Virgin Mary with his special favour ; in honour of his Son, the immortal King of ages and victor over sin and death ; for the increase of the glory of the same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the whole Church, by the authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ, of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that : The Immaculate Mother of God, Mary ever Virgin, was, at the end of her earthly life, assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.
V.  Tu autem, Dómine, miserére nobis. R.  Deo grátias.	V.  But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us. R.  Thanks be to God.
R.  Beáta es, Virgo María, quæ Dóminum portásti, Creatórem mundi : * Genuísti qui te fecit, et inætérnum pérmanes Virgo.V.  Ave, María, grátia plena ; Dóminus tecum. R.  Genuísti qui te fecit, et in ætérnum pérmanes Virgo. V.  Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto. R.  Genuísti qui te fecit, et in ætérnum pérmanes Virgo.	R.  Blessed art thou, O Virgin Mary, who didst bear the Creator of all things : * Thou didst give birth to thy Maker, and forever remainedst a Virgin. V.  Hail Mary, full of grace : the Lord is with thee. R.  Thou didst give birth to thy Maker, and forever remainedst a Virgin. V.  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R.  Thou didst give birth to thy Maker, and forever remainedst a Virgin.

1579th Anniversary of the Opening of the Council of Ephesus (AD 431)

1579th Anniversary of the Opening of the Council of Ephesus (AD 431)

From the Council of Ephesus (AD 431), "Second Letter of St. Cyrill to Nestorius":

[...] The holy and great synod, therefore, stated that:

1. "the only begotten Son, begotten of God the Father according to nature, true God from true God, the light from the light, the one through whom the Father made all things, came down, became incarnate, became man,

2. suffered, rose on the third day and ascended to heaven."

We too ought to follow these words and these teachings and consider what is meant by saying that (2) the Word from God took flesh and became man. For we do not say that the nature of the Word was changed and became flesh, nor that he was turned into a whole man made of body and soul. Rather do we claim that the Word in an unspeakable, inconceivable manner united to himself hypostatically flesh enlivened by a rational soul, and so became man and was called son of man, not by God's will alone or good pleasure, nor by the assumption of a person alone. Rather did two different natures come together to form a unity, and from both arose one Christ, one Son. It was not as though the distinctness of the natures was destroyed by the union, but divinity and humanity together made perfect for us one Lord and one Christ, together marvelously and mysteriously combining to form a unity. So he who existed and was begotten of the Father before all ages is also said to have been begotten according to the flesh of a woman, without the divine nature either beginning to exist in the holy virgin, or needing of itself a second begetting after that from his Father. (For it is absurd and stupid to speak of the one who existed before every age and is coeternal with the Father, needing a second beginning so as to exist.) The Word is said to have been begotten according to the flesh, because for us and for our salvation he united what was human to himself hypostatically and came forth from a woman. For he was not first begotten of the holy virgin, a man like us, and then the Word descended upon him; but from the very womb of his mother he was so united and then underwent begetting according to the flesh, making his own the begetting of his own flesh.

In a similar way we say that (2) he suffered and rose again, not that the Word of God suffered blows or piercing with nails or any other wounds in his own nature (for the divine, being without a body, is incapable of suffering), but because the body which became his own suffered these things, he is said to have suffered them for us. For he was without suffering, while his body suffered. Something similar is true of his dying. For by nature the Word of God is of itself immortal and incorruptible and life and life-giving, but since on the other hand his own body by God's grace, as the Apostle says, tasted death for all, the Word is said to have suffered death for us, not as if he himself had experienced death as far as his own nature was concerned (it would be sheer lunacy to say or to think that), but because, as I have just said, his flesh tasted death. So too, when his flesh was raised to life, we refer to this again as his resurrection, not as though he had fallen into corruption--God forbid--but because his body had been raised again.

So we shall confess one Christ and one Lord. We do not adore the man along with the Word, so as to avoid any appearance of division by using the word "with". But we adore him as one and the same, because the body is not other than the Word, and takes its seat with him beside the Father, again not as though there were two sons seated together but only one, united with his own flesh. If, however, we reject the hypostatic union as being either impossible or too unlovely for the Word, we fall into the fallacy of speaking of two sons. We shall have to distinguish and speak both of the man as honoured with the title of son, and of the Word of God as by nature possessing the name and reality of sonship, each in his own way. We ought not, therefore, to split into two sons the one Lord Jesus Christ. Such a way of presenting a correct account of the faith will be quite unhelpful, even though some do speak of a union of persons. For Scripture does not say that the Word united the person of a man to himself, but that he became flesh. The Word's becoming flesh means nothing else than that he partook of flesh and blood like us; he made our body his own, and came forth a man from woman without casting aside his deity, or his generation from God the Father, but rather in his assumption of flesh remaining what he was.

This is the account of the true faith everywhere professed. So shall we find that the holy fathers believed. So have they dared to call the holy virgin, mother of God, not as though the nature of the Word or his godhead received the origin of their being from the holy virgin, but because there was born from her his holy body rationally ensouled, with which the Word was hypostatically united and is said to have been begotten in the flesh. These things I write out of love in Christ exhorting you as a brother and calling upon you before Christ and the elect angels, to hold and teach these things with us, in order to preserve the peace of the churches and that the priests of God may remain in an unbroken bond of concord and love.

    

Did Aquinas Ultimately Deny the Immaculate Conception?

Did Aquinas Ultimately Deny the Immaculate Conception?

From Garrigou-Lagrange, OP - Christ the Savior, Ch. XL:

The Teaching of St. Thomas on The Immaculate Conception

It seems that we must distinguish between three periods in the life of St. Thomas as to his teaching on this subject.

In the first period, which was from 1253 to 1254, he affirmed the privilege, for he wrote: "Such was the purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was exempt from both original and actual sin."[2467]

In the second period, St. Thomas sees more clearly the difficulties of the problem, and, because some theologians said that Mary had no need of redemption, the holy Doctor affirms that, according to revelation,[2468] Christ is the Redeemer of the human race, and that nobody is saved without him. But giving no thought to preservative redemption, St. Thomas seems to deny the privilege of the Immaculate Conception, saying: "It remains, therefore, that the Blessed Virgin was sanctified after animation,"[2469] St. Thomas fails to distinguish, as he often does in other questions, between posteriority of nature, which is compatible with the privilege, and posteriority of time, which is incompatible with it. He says: "The Blessed Virgin did indeed, contract original sin,"[2470] not sufficiently distinguishing between the debt of incurring original sin and the fact of incurring it.

Concerning the question as to the precise moment when the Blessed Virgin was sanctified in the womb, St. Thomas does not come to any conclusion. He only says: "This sanctification took place immediately after her animation,"[2471] and "it is not known when she was sanctified."[2472]

It must be observed with Fathers del Prado, O. P.,[2473] Mandonnet, O. P.,[2474] and Hugon, O. P.,[2475] that the principles invoked by St. Thomas do not contradict the privilege and remain intact if preservative redemption be admitted. But St. Thomas, at least in this second period of his life as teacher, does not seem to have thought of this most perfect mode of redemption. Moreover, it must be noticed that the feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin was not as yet celebrated in Rome;[2476] but what is not done in Rome, does not appear to be in conformity with tradition.

In the last period of his life, however, from 1272 until 1273, St. Thomas wrote a work that is certainly authentic.[2477] In a recent critical edition of this small work made by J.F. Rossi, CM, we read: "For she [the Blessed Virgin] was most pure because she incurred the stain neither of original sin nor of mortal sin nor of venial sin."[2478] If it be so, then St. Thomas at the end of his life, after mature reflection, and in accordance with his devotion toward the Blessed Virgin, again affirmed what he had said in the first period of his life.[2479]

We must note other passages indicative of this happy return to his first opinion.[2480]

A similar change of opinion is often enough to be found in great theologians concerning very difficult questions that belong to Mariology. First something of the privilege is affirmed in accordance with tradition and devotion; afterward difficulties become more apparent which give rise to doubts, and finally upon more mature reflection, enlightened by the gifts of the Holy Ghost, the theologian returns to his first opinion, considering that God's gifts are more fruitful than we think and there must be good reasons for restricting their scope. But the principles of St. Thomas, as we have observed, do not decide against the privilege, they even lead to it, at the same time as the mind is acquiring an explicit notion of preservative redemption.

Thus St. Thomas probably at the end of life reaffirmed the privilege of the Immaculate Conception. Father Mandonnet [2481] and Father J. M. Voste [2482] thought so.

Cf. "Garrigou-Lagrange on the Three Stages of Maturity in a Theologian's Career"

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2467. Com. in I Sent., d. 44, q. 1, a. 3, ad 3.

2468. Rom. 3:23; 5:12, 19; Gal. 3:22; II Cor. 5:14; I Tim. 2:6.

2469. cf. IIIa, q. 27, a. 2.

2470. Ibid., ad 2.

2471. Quodl VI, a. 7.

2472. cf. IIIa, q. 27, a. 2, ad 3.

2473. Santo Tomas y la Immaculada.

2474. Dict. theol. cath., art. "Freres-Precheurs, " col. 899.

2475. Tractatus dogmatici, II, 749.

2476. cf. IIIa, q. 27, a. 2, ad 3.

2477. This work is entitled "Expositio super salutatione angelica."

2478. cf. Divus Thomas, pp. 445-79, and Monografie del Collegio Alberoni. Sixteen out of the nineteen codices have the words "nec originale"; hence Father Rossi concludes that the text is authentic.

2479. cf. Com. in I Sent., d. 44, q. 1, a. 3, ad 3.

2480. cf. Compendium theologiae, chap. 224, wherein we read: "Not only was the Blessed Virgin Mary immune from actual sin, but also from original sin, being purified in a special manner." But it would not have been a special privilege if she had been purified as Jeremias and St. John the Baptist had been in the womb, some time after her animation. Likewise in the explanation of the Lord's Prayer, the fifth petition, St. Thomas says: "Full of grace, in whom there was no sin." Also in the Com. in Ps. 14:2, we read: "There was absolutely no stain of sin both in Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary." Also Com. in Ps. 18:6, he writes: "There was no obscurity of sin in the Blessed Virgin."

2481. Bulletin thomiste, January to March, 1933, pp. 164-67.